Iam sorry to say Lee will not be returning to Dave's Garden forums. --------Sammut.
TEA ROOM #32
>A great good morning to all ,
I'm home after a spin around Bunnings to day I saw my first bat plant they really are impressive I dont think I am up to them yet they were 60 dollars thate was over half my weekley plant money .
Sammut, I'm shocked, but not surprised that Bunnings would do that. I was at Hervey Bay a couple of weeks ago so called into the Bunnings there. I spotted some pots of the black ones that were a good size and in bud. Given that they sell much smaller ones here for Around $13, I was fully expecting those ones to be well over the $30 mark, but nearly died when they were only a bit less than $7.
I really feel that Bunnings' ethics leave a lot to be desired at times. There's no way they can justify charging $60. At that price they'll probably sit there until they die, and then the supplier won't be paid for them either.
This message was edited Mar 13, 2009 10:03 PM
sammut - your buys look great. i love those pots. pots here are so expensive! i haven't got any but would love some around the garden. will keep looking.
i had such fun at the market. i brought so many nice plants. now have to work out where they are all going :) . as i was leaving it started to bucket down. it was raining so hard that it was hard to drive home. it has stopped again now but rained for a good hour i spose. ground is lovely and wet now.
my first buys were sooo cheap. i got these 6 succulent/cacti's for only $10.00 for the lot. i also got belladonna bulbs for 10cents each. one of the cacti has lots of little pups near her so i have quite a few to repot from just that one plant i think. the one at the back reminded me of a succulent someone had here (the other shelly).
and here is two dwarf crepe myrtles that i got for $7.50 each. more expensive than i normally pay but they are in very large pots and my mother in law just brought me a crepe myrtle and i brought these to go with that one.
one is purple and the other bright pink.
and this lot i got for $11.00 the lot.
there are two pandorea jasminoides - bower of beauty.
one tagetes lemonii -passionfruit marigold. (this smells sooo strong of passionfruit when you rub the leaves).
guara ballerina rose
verbena erinoides deep purple
Hi all.
Father in law in recovery. There was a 3cm gall stone and lots of infection so he has obviously put up with it for a while. Will get the full story this arvo. The beauty of being married to someone in the hospital system is that the surgeon called her straight after surgery. How's that for after sales service! Lawns mowed, birds fed and watered, trimming wayward plants now.
Cheers
Steve
p.s. sorry Jean. Always leaving empties around. Will try to mend my ways.
p.s.s Hel I suppose I may need to subscribe now. Not feeling guilty.......
p.s.s.s No Lee????
i then got all this for $13.50.
erica linnaeoides - linnean heath
three different colours of salvias - dark purple - red - red and dark purple.
and last of all... i got this plant for $3.00 - and then three blue iris bulbs for $1.00
the plant is diascia barberae - diascia dutchians breeches.
Shelly and Sammut are you two shoplifting????
Maybe I just don't know the right places to shop.
Steve
Well bought shellyto4kids - it looks like you had a fantastic time.
In your top pic, the plant at the top right, I don't suppose it is labelled? I've had it for a few years, but have no idea of what it is.
Steve, you'd just about think you'd died an dgone to heaven if you saw the plants available at markets here. They're so cheap!
budgie - glad your father in law in recovery. hope it is a quick full recovery for him. the market is the only place that i buy up with plants - they are about 1/3 of the price of nurseries or bunnings around here. i save my pennies for the second saturday of every month and head to the market for my monthly spend up. i got all of the above for only $52.00. i am rapt with that.
gardengal - no labels so no idea of name. maybe someone else will know what the name is. how big does it get? the more i see pictures of succulents/cacti - the more i am liking them.
off to work out where to put everything.... thats the fun bit and takes me ages and ages.
shelly
>how big does it get?
Not big. I don't think mine has ever gotten to even 30cm, probably more like abou 20. That's not counting the flower stalk of course.
There really are some lovely succulents around, and I suspect with the way much of Australia's climate is heading, they're likely to appear in many more gardens in the not too distant future.
Hi All,
We've just had a nice downpour here & now it's drizzling enough to stop me from the bit of pruning I was planning this morning. But at least it's a bit cooler, overcast too.
Boy, am I hanging out for the cooler weather - bring on Autumn I say!
Shelly4kids, I'm glad to hear that Melb is getting some rain - I hope it keeps up for you. I love the tongue-like succulent you bought. Your market sounds like a bargain hunter's dream!
Sammut you've picked up an interesting selection there too! Those pots for $7.50 are a bargain!
I'm getting reluctant to pay "full" price for plants these days, when I know they can be propagated so easily & as I've killed a few expensive things in the past - like bat plants - I'm very wary of doing it again! I've actually managed to walk out of the garden shop this morning without actually buying anything - that's a first for me!
I've got my eye on a couple of things, but just can't bring myself to paying so much for them!
Jean, there's definitely something there with men & chainsaws - my husband isn't really into gardening, but just mention the need for some chainsaw action & he's a keen as mustard! Anything manual he hates, but add a bit of machinery & I can usually get his interest ;-)
Kat, it must be frustrating having turkeys - I never knew they were that destructive!
Well it looks like the drizzle has stopped, so I better get into it! Hope you all get some pleasant gardening weather today!
Oh - here's a pic of the oil spill on Wurtulla beach! What a terrible thing to happen to our lovely Moreton Bay!
Leisa.
I suppose that is the downside to Sydney living. No markets to speak of.
We do the rounds down the coast when we are there and there is a huge difference in price to Sydney.
I recently bought a metre tall Bottle Brush for $8 that would be $25 around here. I might need to go further afield in future or just wait 'til we are at Sussex. The only downside to the markets is range. They all tend to sell the same things.
Budgie
Hello all. I have been out trimming things back. A bit here and there , a little at a time and it's amazing how much one gets done.
Hubby had the chainsaw out so I wisely stayed on the other side of the house. He is so helpful but you are right Leisa. Put a man and a bit of machinery together is like making a bomb.
Sometimes after they've finished it looks like a bomb went off.
Sammut and Shelly you both did well with the plants. we have no markets around here and the nurseries I can get to are too expensive. Besides I find that the plants sold are usually pot bound. I stick to the orphan table in our hardware place. Hel, I have seen plants that we would throw out as triffids being sold for high prices in some of the shops. Talk about daylight robbery. I saw a pot of Dietes the other day going for $15 . I throw a lot of it out as it grows like a weed anywhere.
Shelly , half the fun of buying plants is the planning of where they'll go. Gardengal, I'm moving to your area for those markets.
Brain will know that plant in Shelly pic.
Steve, glad that father-in-law is on the mend.
Going back out now to do a bit more while it's nice out there.
Ooops , just looked out the window, not going back out, it's started to rain. Oh well, I got a lot done anyway.
I can now see the little Autumn plants poking their noses up to have a look around. See you all later . enjoy the weekend, Jean.
After noon to all ,
Shelly you did good even with mark downs I spend neally double and only 11 items but it was fun .
I have repotted a most have not planted in the new pots yet .
Leisa I have never been in a garden shop and not bought you are one strong willed lady I have started to buy small tubestock plants now running out of space .
gardengal the bat plants were very big with luck in a few weeks when they are not at their best I might get one marked down and nurce it back to it former glory .
Shell I found a nother Hoya its POLNEURA fish tail hoya leaves are very thin and not so waxey
here is pic. of my new hoya.----------Sammut.
Hi everyone!!!!!!!!Hope everyone is well today.I have not been able to play in the dirt.It have been raining for 3 days in a row non stop.YUCK!!!!!Well i hope you all enjoy your day and stay safe.
Waving to all,Cody
Jean - which dietes (vegeta or bicolor)?
We have tons of vegeta here and even though it is weedlike is is good for spot colour.
The interesting thing is in the predawn when you look at them the flowers appear to be floating above the plant because you can't see the stem just the vivid white single flower.
Cheers
Steve
p.s. Hi Cody. Don't think we've met yet.
Hi Steve,nice to met you.Hope you have a bless day.Take care and be safe.
Cody
Well good night everyone!!!!May God bless you all and keep you safe.
Waving to all,Cody
Shell,calla liliy called Pillow Talk.
This message was edited Mar 16, 2009 12:02 AM
Thanks Cody. Nice the meet you too.
Had to laugh about man and machine comments. A few weeks ago I was working on the pump housing at Sussex and needed to drill one inch holes through hardwood. As I am want to do - I improvised using a hole drill that is meant to be used on softwood and ply. The thing kept skipping off to the left so I thought it needed more ooomph. I put the wood on the floor, a foot either side of where I wanted to drill, leaned with all my might and drilled. Guess what? Skewed off to the left and took a chunk out of my foot! Hobbled bleeding to the back door and called for the nurse. I was patched up with sympathy and went back to the project to do exactly the same thing. Back to the door with an even bigger chuck out of my foot. No sympathy this time just a 'you idiot' and a bandaid thrown at me. The moral of the story is 'don't trust machinery'. (well after all it can't be me that is the problem)!
Steve
also earlier I mentioned taking a laptop to the experts to check it out. I spent some of the morning working out what the problem is and think I have it figured. Took it to the store where I was told I was probably right in my diagnosis but that it would cost $270 minimum just to open it and have a look. So I said I would open the casing and bring it to them thereby allowing them to go straight to work and saving me money. Their answer ' sorry we won't work on anything that has not been opened by us'. So looks like it's up to me to fix it. Fingers crossed.
Cheers
Steve
>Back to the door with an even bigger chuck out of my foot. No sympathy this time just a 'you idiot' and a bandaid thrown at me.
You got off VERY lightly Steve.
We probably shouldn't go into what a man with a jackhammer drill can do to himself when it jams on the wire reinforcing inside the concrete he's attempting to break up.
I can only imagine Gardengal.
I don't muck with big machinery 'cause I know what the result would be!
Makes you cringe just thinking about it! I'll retract my drill story. The man you refer to must be a far better being than I! LOL
Pouring rain at the moment but I feel it will be brief. (it has to be - My beloved Sharks play tonight)
Budgie
while I think of it..
Mya - is Belgian Gardens a suburb of Townsville?
Cheers
Steve
By the way the Budgies asked me to show you what they think of cats!
as suggested the showers have gone as fast as they arrived.
at least I don't need to waste tank water tonight.
Steve ,yes ,Belgian Gardens is a suburb of Townsville....come on, why?
Just curious Mya. Have a client who moved north and their address is BG and my mothers cousin has been in touch re. family history and his address is BG. Had not heard of the name previously so it is odd to have two references at the same time.
Steve
whew, took me ages to catch up again...
I am trying to limit myself to one net session per day.
And when work interferes & I miss a day - well the stroll down the garden path becomes a 3 day hike;)
So I mentioned the Ellerslie garden show being out of my budget...
one of my lovely regulars gave me a ticket.
I really hope I can go tomorrow after dog club.
Sunday is the last day.
My work mate got a bronze for her floral art exhibit.
Her theme was Hollywood glamour.
She created a directors chair from timber & the seat was a mass of flowers, then she draped gorgeous fabric around it & finished it with a clap board, and a megaphone & film spool all decorated with flowers.
Actually the chap who gave me the ticket has also given me seedlings before - some annuals, Candy tuft I think & tomatoes.
Steve,sound like you and tools don't mix.LOL!!!!!
Hi everyone!!!!I hope everyone is having a better day then Steve.Well it has stopped raining here,but it is still cold.By next week i hope it will be warm again so i can get outside and do some stuff.Well hope everyone has a bless day and stay safe.
Cody
ocngrats on getting the ticket dalfyre. that is great. enjoy yourself.
i am looking forward to seeing the melb flower and garden show for the first time this year.
shelly
Hello everyone. Steve , what can one say ? I think your better more sensible half said it. Have you ever thought why the tools attack ? They like to be handled gently and used within their limits, which is why we ladies when tackling a job , usually emerge unscathed.
I won't tell you the story of a friend of ours who bought a very large , motor driven wood splitter. I will just say, his hand is still attached to his body, luckily.
Hello Sammut, you certainly are having fun with your plants. you will need to leave a path so you can get around them all as they grow. Love the Hoya too.
Steve , the Dietes was the usual white with the purple and yellow bits on the flowers. yes they do look lovely and make a good fill in. I'm with the budgies about cats. Funny thing, I love cats but only somewhere else.
Hello Cody, glad your rain has stopped so you can get down in the dirt.
Dalfyre, how nice for you to get that ticket to the Garden show. Have a great time .
Hello Leisa and Mya.
Chrissy, I am keeping a close eye on Alphonse.
Hello to Helen and the Shellys. Also Kat , I know you are lurking around waiting for breakfast.
Sue , how is the Brom palace going ? By now you will be needing a new and larger version as they grow.
a bit like my epi house. More rooms there than in my house.
We had a very cold afternoon and evening yesterday and it is still very chilly. A bit more rain and some very windy squalls during yesterday afternoon.
I will get out and about when the sun comes up properly later.
Hello to all I may have missed. There is food in the kitchen and you can sit out and enjoy your cuppa. One thing about the Tea Room is the weather is always what you want.
Lemon Cakes, always a favorite.
Happy gardening
Jean.
Good morning everyone. Rather cool here today. Still no rain. Hello Cody, is that a Calla lily that you posted. Beautiful. I see that you're going to have some angels as well. Mine are slowly growing. Shelly you certainly got a lot of plants for your money. Sammut had fun too and those pots are a real bargain. Sammut the little no-name flower in the front-centre of your pic is a Vinca I think. My pic today is the burgundy Iceberg. It is a prolific flowerer just like the white. I must get the pink one too, but I dont know whether they are as hardy and probably will have to ask for it. I got given a lot of bougie cuttings the other day. I hope that some of them take. There is an orange one there that is really beautiful and a pinky-red. Will let you know if I get any to take. I love the thread for the Cannas. I have some flowering now but they're not a patch on those. Still a bit more colour for the garden. My poor cherry tree is all mixed up, it's flowering. That's the sort of weather we're having here at the moment, it thinks it's Spring. I wonder what sort of weather we'll have when Spring does come, maybe Autumn. Well everyone have a lovely day. catch you later. Colleen
Hi Jean,Sorry to say i spoke to soon about the rain.It is raining cats and dogs agian.YUCK!!!!!I hate rain this has been going for 4 days now.
Hi Colleen,yes that is a Calla Liliy called Pillow Talk.
Yes i have a total of 23 brugmansias.Here is a couple of pictures of them.
Picture 2.
Happy St Patrick's Day everyone!
What night! last night ...it took until 2am to sort the computer after a terrible electrical storm ...stormed through here ...twice!!! my poor angels! torn but not totaled!
That sloshing sound is my shoes ...I have been outside ... a perfect morning in fact a champagne kind of day.
* hel wow good for you ...you just wait and see ...it will bring the whole world to your doorstep and lots of lovely international friends too. Don't forget us here in the tea room though.
* sammut ...do I see the lovely pitcher plants there? sit them in a shallow saucer and keep the water up (preferably collected rain water) ...don't water from above and no fertilizer ...place in a warm but shelterd position.
that hoya is amazing and yes that is a pretty little vinca ...mine have thrown out little seeds already.
a blue and white plumbago? a lasiandra ...you did very well didn't you.
* about lee sad to see him gone but he may be happier in the garden ...good luck lee we will miss you.
*gardengal I think the bat plants need a fair bit of care down here ...I think it is so rarely seen it is considered the same as an expensive orchid. Something is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it.
*shelley24kids ...great bargains ...I love the crepe myrtles best of all. you sound like you are having such fun ...that's great to hear.
* steve ...you father in law won't know himself after this ...he will be a new man. Go on subscribe ...it's such a revolation ...you would love the bird forum ...there are games ...recipes ...computer ...recipes ...it's all there waiting for you ...
how's the foot today.
*leisa ...so many markets around the place ...we even have plants at our fruit market all donated for charity and sold for just a few dollars each ...the church too every 3rd sat ...a huge market ...mostly plants.I do feel sorry for nurserys though ...water restrictions high costs ...many have gone broke around our way ...a few years ago they were thriving businesses ...even the manure company over the hill is laying off staff.
* colleen ...I always wondered what the bergundy iceberg was like ...very pretty but does it flower as much as iceberg? re the cannas put them in big pots sitting in planter dishes and keep the water up the the dishes ...that will give you lovely cannas.Judy's are to die for aren't they.
* mya ...Have the munchers left yet?
* Kat I don't know how you stand it! Get some Pythons and maybe they will eat the darned turkeys or frighten them away at least! just the same your garden sounds amazing ...though I would cry everytime I found up rooted plants.
* Ann ...I hope things are drying out up there.
* I am waiting for that beautiful orange bud to open ^_^
A big wave to all of you not here in the tea shop
Enjoy your Sunday Arvo
chrissy
>I think the bat plants need a fair bit of care down here
Chrissy, they'd do okay as an indoor plant during the cooler months provided there was some moisture nearby to compensate for the drying effects of indoor heating.
They don't die down during Winter, but they do go into dormancy, so the biggest risk is during the cool months anywhere is overwatering.
I'm very tempted to try unpotting one once they've stopped growing and popping it into a ziplock bag filled with peat moss for the Winter to see how it would go. If it was successful it would certainly make them far less risky to overwinter in the cooler states.
Pam
